Foundation garment support structure



y 4, 1957 M. R. SCHUBERT I FOUNDATION GARMENT SUPPORT STRUCTURE Filed Feb. 10

I ATTORNEYS INVEN i'OR MAM ,4 K 50/055 67 BY KM United States. Patent FOUNDATION GARMENT SUPPORT STRUCTURE Minna R. Schubert, Saginaw, Micln, assignorto Le Monde Corset Company, Saginaw, Mi'cln, a corporation of Michigan Application February 10, 1954, Serial No. 409,369

2 Claims. (Cl. 2-37) The present invention relates to anew and unique foundation garment structure and more particularly to supporting means incorporated into foundation garments of the full length corset type.

Two problems have long confrontedthe industry: (1) maintaining adequate support to model arand-om. figure into a fashionable torso contour while. maintainingcomfort to the wearer of the garment with lightness of weight, (2) preventing the structural details of the garment from appearing exteriorly and preventing anexcessive flesh bulge in terminal areas of support.

The availability of modern fabrics and modernelastic mesh material hasmade possible an overall reduction in garment weight and comfort, but ingarments where more support is necessary than is available in combinations of elastic mesh material and fabric thedifliculty ofachieving minimum weight, and comfort, while providing; adequate support hasresultedin an emphasis upon contouring the structural support members in such a. manner as-to pres vent visible exterior contour variations where the addi tional support is applied, and to containgracefully asa contour progression the bulging-usual around the upper periphery of such garments;

It is therefore an, object of the present-invention to present a newand novel means for support panels and sections in foundation garments.

It is another object of this invention to present a foundation garment structure which is comfortable to the wearer while achieving maximum body contour support.

Still another object of this inventionis to-pnovide a combination of foundation garment. panels capable of controlling the bulge normal in garments of this: type around the periphery thereof.

Other objects and'inventive characteristics ofthisnew and unique foundation garment structure will become increasingly apparent to those familiar in the art as the description proceeds.

In the drawing:

Figure l is a front elevation in phantom line indicating conventional flesh bulges about the terminal portions of a full length foundation garment.

Figure 2 is a front elevation of a modeled garment with one front section exploded to illustrate the construction and extent of the stay-carrying floating liner.

Figure 3 is a side elevation showing the elastic panel upon the wearer terminating somewhat above the waist.

Figure 4 is a fragmental side elevation of the same modeled garment with the elastic panel partially cut away to reveal the bias cut of the inelastic liner in fully extended position.

Figure 5 is a fragmental side elevation of the same garment but not upon a figure showing the inelastic panel liner back of the elastic side panel in a relaxed or inoperative position.

Figure '6 is a rear elevation of a modeled garment partially cut away to reveal the position of the floating liner 2,791,774 Patented May 14, 1957 with stays behind the rear inelastic section. In the cutaway portion stays are shown adjacent the stitching margin illustrating a conventional non-floating insertion of stays.

Referring more particularly to the drawinga full length foundation garment is illustrated comprised of front vertical'sections 11 and 11a, front panels 12 and 12a and back panels. 13 and 13a. Elastic side panels 14 and 14:: are provided. A brassiere top 15 of the uplift type is illustrated as attached to the top of the garment and supported by conventional shoulder straps 16. Rear strap support sections. 17 and 17a provide upper extensions of the back. panelslS and 13a respectively.

The vertical elastic panels 14 and 14a are placed symmetrically running down either side of. the garment. Adjacent to the. elastic panels 14 and 14a and rearwardly positioned with respect. thereto are inflexible support panels 13 and 13a and their respectivev strap support sections 17 and 17a stitched securely to the rear vertical edge of the elastic panels 14 and 14a. Inwardly from said inflexible panels 17 and 17a and coincidentally in position behind said inflexible panels 17 and 17a is a stay liner 18 (Fig. 6). A plurality of stays19 and 20 are stitched into. said stay liner 18 running substantially the length of the garment. A similararrangement is repeated behind the panel V and support extension 17a. By reason-of the cutaway section 17 the floating liner 13 is best illustrated inFig. 6.

At the top-of the elastic panels 14-- and 14a are provided. (Fig. 4) bias-cut liners 21 and 21a secured longitudinally to the-edges of the adjacent inflexible panels. 12 and 12a and 13 and 13a and containing sufficient material laterally to stretch taut across the topof said elastic strips 14 and 14a, only as the. elastic strips 14 and 14a approach the limit of their stretch. (Bias-cut as-used herein means-a tapered cut across the top edge of. the fabric and has no reference to a bias cut withrespect to, the strand direction of the fabric) Abdominal support sections 11 and 11a on-either side iof the opening means22 also require stay. support. Stay liners 23 (as shown behind the cutaway section 11a in Fig. 2) are provided which correspond in. contour to thenouter, inelastic sections 11 and 11a.. As in the rear stay liners 18 vertically. oriented stays 24 are. stitched into the liners 23 and extend substantially lengthwise of the abdomen for support. ,Hose supporters 25 are. attached to theHlowe-r edge of the 1iners23 and loop outwardly to attach to the lower seam 26 of the sections 11 and 11a. The materials. Comprisingboth liners 18' and 23 and panels 11 and 11a and 13 and1'3a are inflexible fabrics. The lowermost extension of the liner 23 generally parallels the seams of the panels 11 and 11a nearest the vertical zipper closure 22 illustrated. Hose supporting members 25 are then securely stitched to the bottom of the liner extensions 27 and the bound edge 26 of the bottom of the panels 11 and 11a.

Other hose supporting members 28 are arranged con veniently about the lower peripheral edge of the garment and stitched thereto in the conventional manner but are looped to attach to the lower edge of the garment.

The stay liners 18 and abdominal stay liners 23 are divorced from attachment to the outer panels except in the vertical seams. The back stays 19 and 20 and the abdominal support stays 24 are not in any way attached to the fabric of the corresponding panels. In this manner the stays appropriately are positioned from vertical or lateral displacement and any flesh ridges caused by the action of the stays is suppressed by the buttressing action of the inelastic outer panel. In addition, the liners are free floating independently of the outer fabric panel and cannot damage the fabric of the outer panel or cause discomfort to the wearer.

The hose supports attached to both the bottom of i the panels 11 and 11a and to the liner extensions 23 act to tensionally assist the support of the liners and simultaneously the panels.

As in conventional foundation garments the vertical elastic strips 14 and 14a upon either side of the garment provides the tensioning means of support that is non-resiliently transmitted through the inelastic panel members to give the desired support to the, garment. Unlike conventional garments, however, beyond the top of the elastic strip a limited expansion section 21 extends upwardly to termination in the upper peripheralbinding 29. The lower portion of the limited expansion section, 21 is at: tached to only the vertical seams of the elastic strips 14 and 14a and is provided with a built-in excess of inelastic material to achieve tautness behind and above the elastic strips '14 and 14a only when the elastic members 14 and 14a approach the limit of their elasticity. In this manner there is achieved a compaction of flesh as it commences to roll over the upper edge of the elastic panel members 14 and 14a and the flesh bulge is thus merged into the contours the garment seeks to model. In Fig. 1 a phantom line presentation indicates a somewhat exaggerated flesh bulge under the arms of the wearer resulting from a garment not provided with limited expansion sec'-' tions 21 extending above the elastic panels 14 and 14a. By reference to Fig. 5 it will be seen that the expansion section 21 is provided with a lateral excess of material behind the relaxed elastic panel 14a. In Fig. 4 the elastic panel 14a is cut away to show the bias-cut lower edge 31 of the expansion section 21. By reason of the bias-cut behind the elastic panel 14a supporting stresses are added to the garment when the inelastic expansion section 21 becomes taut and no waist bulges are occasioned by reason of the expansion section 21 behind the elastic panel 14a. Shoulder straps 16 are arranged to vertically sus pend the garment from the shoulders of the wearer and the back sections 17 and 1712 are suspended from the shoulder straps 16 to achieve maximum flesh compaction above the limits of the back stays 19 and 20.

The vertical panelling arrangement permits vast experimentation in contour modeling and the novel structure incorporating stay support which floats against the panel material makes possible minimum discomfort to the wearer with maximum control of contours.

It" is, of course, understood that while the description has proceeded to describe liner type panels and sections on one side of the garment, they are intended to herepeated symmetrically behind the corresponding opposite panel or section of the garment. It will also be understood that the construction illustrated may be shifted to other sections and panels of a similar garment.

Having thus described the invention it will be appreciated that a significant advancement has been made in the foundation garment art by the use of liners for buttressing support while maintaining lightness without sacrifice in producing fashionable torso contours.

I claim:

1. In a body encircling foundation garment structure the combination including: a plurality of elastic panels running vertically the length of said garment; non-elastic vertical panels joined to said elastic panels at the vertical edges thereof and forming a tubular sheath therewith; and a partial inner liner backing said elastic panels and having a bias cut lower edge extending substantially below the upper terminal edge of said elastic panels and fastened to the vertical edges of said panels at the jointure between said elastic and non-elastic panels, and being laterally coextensive with said elastic panels when said elastic panels approach full expansion to provide inflexible pressure-distributing support as said elastic panel approaches the limit of its elasticity in the upper terminal area.

2. In a body encasing foundation garment comprised of joined vertically oriented panels and front and back sections, the combination including: oppositely and symmetric-ally positioned selected panels of substantially nonelastic material; pocketed inner liners of substantially non-elastic material substantially similar in size to said selected panels and secured to said selected panels at the vertical edges thereof; a plurality of ribs running substantially the length of said panels andstitched against vertical or lateral displacement into the pockets of said inner liners; vertical elastic panels adjacent said non-elastic panels and forming expansion units at the sides of said garment and being stitched to said non-elastic panels and said liners on one side and to another vertical non-elastic panel on the other side; and partial non-elastic liners having an upper edge substantially above the upper terminal edge of said elastic panels, and having a bias-cut bottom edge substantially below the upper terminal edge of said elastic panels, attached to the vertical edges of adjacent panels, and partially backing said elastic panels, and being laterally coextensive with said elastic panels when said elastic panels'approach full expansion to provide inflexible pressure-distributing support as said elastic panel approaches the limit of its elasticity in the upper terminal area:

. References cued in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,993,671 Kahn Mar. 5, 1935 2,076,169 I Wipperman Apr. 6, 1937 2,400,823 Hollar May 21, 1946 2,595,031 Wanish Apr. 29, 1952 

